Wandering Albatross

Wandering Albatross ( Diomedea exulans )

The wandering albatross ( Diomedea exulans ) is a very large seabird of the albatross.

In Europe, the wandering albatross is an extremely rare Irrgast. In the 20th century it was observed only once in 1957 in Sicily and in 1963 in Poland.

Description

Wandering albatrosses reach a body length of 117 cm and a wingspan of 324 cm. An adult, fully pigmented wandering albatross has - apart from the narrow black edge of the rear wing edge and the black hand swing tips - at the bottom of a white plumage. The upper wing-coverts are also white with some black sprinklings. The sharp beak and feet are flesh colored pale, the eyes are dark brown. However, this staining show only several years old with wandering albatrosses. Young animals have a predominantly brown plumage that is increasingly white with age. The last appears as speckled brown band across the chest.

Distribution area

Wandering albatrosses breed on the subantarctic islands. For breeding area include, inter alia, South Georgia, Crozet, Kerguelen, Antipodes and Macquarie.